Yomi Benson: Transforming brands, rebuilding corporate entities

Yomi Benson is the MD/CEO of Culture Communications Limited, an integrated marketing communications agency located in Lekki, Lagos State. Having worked for STB McCann, and British American Tobacco, among others, Yomi decided to set up Culture Communications on January 4, 2010, with staff strength of just above four and zero account. Today, Yomi’s agency has about 30 staff members, including a number of portfolio accounts that are mostly multinational.

Among all the jobs done by the firm, what, perhaps, stands out is the revolutionary work done on Trophy Lager, which was transformed from being a relatively unknown product to the fastest selling brand in the West Africa. He has worked on brands such as Total, SABMiller (now AB InBev), Hines, and British American Tobacco, among others. 

In this interview with Start-Up Digest Editor ODINAKA ANUDU, the entrepreneur tells his growth story, his transformation of Trophy beer and gives nuggets of information to aspiring entrepreneurs on how to succeed in a tough environment.

What motivated you to set up Culture Communications?

We felt there was a gap between understanding the consumers and how to communicate with them. We wanted to go into a cultural orientation of people to know what their insights are and speak to them in the language they understand. That was the gap we came to fill, which we have achieved to some extent. We started in 2010 and our wish is to have an environment that is urbane, green and where creativity thrives. When we started the business then, we wanted to have a company where we could work 24/7, which is almost a virtual company. You have a laptop, you have the internet and you can work on briefs from anywhere. This is not something that is special any more.  But what we pride ourselves in is speed, because we know that what happens is that the client will give you a brief and it takes time to get back to him. Another thing we are serious with is cultural relevance of brands and, finally, is consumer insight. We do not do anything without understanding what the intention is, that is, the problem of the consumer that is intended to be solved.

How did you succeed with Trophy brand?

Yes, something happened in this country that needs to be noticed. For the first time in my life, I have realised that advertising works. We picked the Trophy brand six years ago, but the brand was dead. It had been around for over 20 years, yet it was moribund. SABMiller bought it and then re-launched it. We got this brand on a platter of gold and we went to the South-West (Ilesha) and spent four days there. We sat with the consumers, bought drinks and asked them what they wanted. They gave us the name ‘Honourable’ and so many other things. We had data from the client but we didn’t use it. We went qualitatively and interacted with consumers. When we came back, we spoke extensively and did that job. Few months after that campaign, Trophy exploded. It became the number one. All beer in this country became jittery and subsequently started using one word. That brand was a trailblazer in the advertising industry. Trophy became the highest selling brand regionally for SABMiller. It’s massive. Trophy is today becoming a national brand. We did a job for Hines about two years ago. They started using that all over Africa. The point I am making is that for us to do those things, we needed to talk to people.

The economy is challenged and only innovative agencies survive. Can you tell us a few innovations that are coming out of Culture?

One of the things we have done is to collapse the process and to make things work easily for our consumers and clients. When you talk about economic meltdown, you find that the funds that are there, are no more there. But you still need to talk to your consumers. I will give you an example. Nowadays, what we do is to go back to our clients with finished jobs on everything. In TV, radio, press, you move from providing ideas to making those ideas work. Secondly, we found out that content was important. Prior to now, you would take things from agencies and give them to content developers. What we do now is that we actually generate those contents and there are channels through which we make them work. One day, we sat down at the agency and we said, ‘Betting companies have come online. Our youths are gravitating towards it and it keeps them away from doing the bad things. If there is a gap there, why can’t we do things that will be help them to become better in a way that they will make money out of it.’ We came up with a newspaper called ‘Winning Goals’ and it is doing fantastically well.

People say there is a drop in the content quality in your industry. Do you agree?

I will answer you from two perspectives. First is that advertising has been commoditised. It’s no longer ‘professional’ because everybody can now do advertising.   There are quacks in the industry. When you see their work outside, you think it is advertising. There are charlatans. But in terms of people who are doing this business well, my thinking is that they are actually doing well. Look at Airtel ads. When you look at them, you will see there is a deep understanding of what the consumer wants. I don’t work on Airtel but you will see that these people are answering some questions.  Look at how good MTN ads are. We still have good ones who can give you good jobs.

What form of advert do you think is the best for a recessed economy like Nigeria?

Right now, consumers determine how you talk with them. For some brands, it’s the social media. For some, it’s digital. However, the best form of advertising you do now is to know what people want. When you know what people want, you will be giving them the right answer.

Do you do surveys?

Basically, advertising thrives on data. You need to have information about your consumers, because they move very fast. Advertising agencies are communications managers and need to know what is going on. Data is extremely important, both qualitative and quantitative. Owners of data are the ones making things happen. So if you are an agency and can’t deliver on that, you could have your clients’ sales drop.

Is it true that foreign agencies are taking the jobs from local agencies?

It is true and it’s not true. The brands are no more in Nigeria. You can’t have a brand and you say it’s in Nigeria. You can’t make a brand a Yoruba brand. We are citizens of the world, and if you cannot deliver quality, consumer-related communications, somebody else can take it. I have lived in this country all my life. So, which agency should be strong enough to come in and tell me about my country?  The point I am making is that if an agency can come in from abroad and tell me about my country, then something is wrong with me. Those who are losing their jobs to foreign agencies are the ones who are not doing it very well.

How do you cope with brands cutting advertising spend?

Everybody cuts. Every business is challenged. What it means is that you have to look inwards and ensure that the brands you manage have optimisation in terms of consumer connection. It means you have to go back and put twice as much to ensure the brand does not suffer.

Nigerian economy is in a slump. How do you survive as an agency?

One, survival is about adaptability. Human beings are here not because they are stronger than any other specie but because they can adapt. Nigerians have an undying attitude. What we need to do is to learn how to do things at a much cheaper level and that will deliver top quality, that whoever sees it won’t believe it’s possible. It is during warfare that most innovations thrive.

Tell us how technology is helping Culture?

The first thing we did is to have someone who is well-versed in understanding the kind of technology we need to help us. We do not have to travel to the UK to have meetings any more. This is because we have a screen and telephone opportunities to talk and even relate with these people one on one. Our office is almost a paperless one. We don’t incur cost on those things. We talk via mail; we use snapchat and all the social media, to be in tune with the times.

What advice do you have for young Nigerians willing to become entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship can be innate or learnt. If you are a natural entrepreneur, you would have known this from when you were young. If you have those natural talents, you need a mentor to take you through. If you are not a natural entrepreneur, I will advise you work in an establishment for a while so that you can learn, before establishing your business.

You need to plan and you need to be patient. Entrepreneurship enables you to become your own director but it can be dangerous if not well planned.